Conventional recreational vehicles (RV) are available in a number of different types depending upon the size requirements and other desires of the purchaser. For example, the purchaser or user can select an RV that is motorized and can be driven by itself or one can be selected that requires a tow vehicle to tow the RV. Consumers increasingly want additional, increased interior room and also want to be provided with additional options available with the RV. One option that has found increasing commonality in recent years is the incorporation of one or more slide-out sections into the RV. The slide-out sections are part of an automated system where the user simply activates the system resulting in the slide-out section extending outward from an exterior wall of the RV. The slide-out section when placed in its extended position increases the overall available interior space. Slide-out sections can be incorporated into any number of different types of RVs including motor homes and fifth wheel trailer type RVs.
Conventional RVs typically include slide-out mechanisms with one or two arms that are the drive means for driving the slide-out section. The slide-out mechanism is often incorporated above the floor of the vehicle since it is difficult to integrate the slide-out mechanism into the chassis. It is also difficult to integrate the slide-out mechanism into the chassis in a way that maintains a pleasing appearance for the vehicle. As a result, the slide-out mechanism is typically placed in the above the floor location; however, by incorporating the slide-out mechanism above the floor of the upper deck, the amount of available interior space in the upper deck decreases and thus, it is counterproductive to place the mechanism at this location.
One exemplary type of slide-out mechanism incorporated above a floor of the RV is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,523, which discloses a sliding mechanism for extending and retracting a slide-out compartment. The sliding mechanism includes a guide member having two securing flanges separated by a gap that communicates with an interior channel. A slider rail is disposed within the interior channel and has a middle portion adapted with a plurality of holes formed therein. Extending from the middle portion are two securing members that cooperate with the securing flanges of the guide member to maintain the slider rail within the interior channel as the middle portion extends into the gap. Within the interior channel at one end of the guide member, a gear mechanism is provided. The gear member drivingly engages a plurality of teeth on the gear within the plurality of holes in the middle portion of the slider rail.
While the sliding mechanism of the '523 patent is suitable for some uses, it suffers from a number of disadvantages. For example, the sliding mechanism is of the type that while the slider rail slides within the guide member, the sliding mechanism can not be mounted flush to an underside of a support member, such as the floor, since the topmost portion of the sliding mechanism is the sliding rail whose securing members slide along the securing flanges. Thus, only the opposite side of the guide member can be mounted flush against a support member. This limits the locations where the sliding mechanism can be mounted and more importantly, this design does not particularly lend itself to being mounted to an underside of the support member since the topmost sliding rail prevents such an arrangement. It would therefore be desirable to construct a sliding mechanism where the sliding mechanism and the gear mechanism can still be disposed within the channel defined in the guide member; however, the guide member is constructed so that it can be mounted in two ways, either to an underside of a support member or it can be mounted to a topside of the support member.